1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system. In particular, the present invention relates to a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for programmatically generating synthetic transactions to monitor performance and availability of a Web application.
2. Description of Related Art
Performance monitoring is often used in optimizing the use of software in a system. A performance monitor is generally regarded as a facility incorporated into a processor to assist in analyzing selected characteristics of a system by determining a machine's state at a particular point in time. One method of monitoring system performance is to monitor the system using a transactional-based view. In this manner, the performance monitor may access the end-user experience by tracking the execution path of a transaction to locate where problems occur. Thus, the end user's experience is taken into account in determining if the system is providing the service needed.
Tivoli Monitoring for Transaction Performance™ (hereafter TMTP) is a centrally managed suite of software components that monitor the availability and performance of Web-based services and operating system applications. TMTP captures detailed transaction and application performance data for all electronic business transactions. With TMTP, every step of a customer transaction as it passes through an array of hosts, systems, application, Web and proxy servers, Web application servers, middleware, database management software, and legacy back-office software, may be monitored and performance characteristic data compiled and stored in a data repository for historical analysis and long-term planning. One way in which this data may be compiled in order to test the performance of a system is to simulate customer transactions and collect “what-if” performance data to help assess the health of electronic business components and configurations. TMTP provides prompt and automated notification of performance problems when they are detected.
With TMTP, an electronic business owner may effectively measure how users experience the electronic business under different conditions and at different times. Most importantly, the electronic business owner may isolate the source of performance and availability problems as they occur so that these problems can be corrected before they produce expensive outages and lost revenue.
As customers need to ensure that their Web sites are available and meet performance targets, TMTP permits users to manually record and playback business transactions occurring on their Web sites. While TMTP allows for recording/playback of business transactions to determine the manner by which a transaction is processed by the various elements of the electronic business, using such manual recordings requires that users understand the common paths that their customers take through their Web site. That is, while TMTP permits a user to record/playback business transactions, no mechanism is present in TMTP for analyzing customer paths through the Web site and using this information with the TMTP product line in order to suggest and automatically generate playback of recorded business transactions.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a mechanism for dynamically generating a business transaction recording and programmatically scheduling playback to automatically determine the boundaries of common business transactions and if these transactions meet performance and availability requirements.